Western Movies: The Golden Age, Part 2 set for LPL

Western Movies: The Golden Age, Part 2
Forty Guns (1957)
Directed by Sam Fuller
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 8 AT 6:00 P.M.

Barbara Stanwyck plays a powerful landowner who runs things her way, not only on her ranch but also throughout Cochise County, Arizona. If you think Stanwyck was strong and sexy in other films wait until you
see her lead a band of forty gunmen across Sam Fuller’s rugged, wide-screen western canvas. When U.S. Marshal Griff Bonnell arrives to restore law and order, sparks fly. Jessica prepares for battle, even as she fights her own attraction to Bonnell. The director’s outrageous, kinetic style in this film has been admired by the likes of Jean-Luc Godard, Quentin Tarantino and Martin Scorsese.

Throughout the fifties, the greatest westerns ever made could be seen in the theater around the corner, while around the world, big-name western directors like John Ford and Howard Hawks became critical darlings. But independent filmmakers had their own ideas of how a western could be made. Commentaries on blacklisting and racism, it turns out, can dress themselves up as westerns. A strong woman leading a band of gunmen can also find a place in the genre’s greatest decade. In the midst of it all stands John Ford’s The Searchers, often cited as the best western ever made. Film professor Terry Meehan rides back into town with five favorites from the mid fifties, and will introduce each film with rare clips and original documentaries, followed by audience reaction and a lively discussion.

This free event will be held in the Lakewood Public Library Main Auditorium at 15425 Detroit Avenue. No registration is needed. Call (216) 226-8275 ext. 127 for more information.

Follow Us

cleveland.com is powered by Plain Dealer Publishing Co. and Northeast Ohio Media Group. All rights reserved (About Us).The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Northeast Ohio Media Group LLC.